New AuthorEarnings Report Highlights B&N Sales

Massive change is being sparked in the publishing industry, thanks to the enterprising–and exhausting–work of authors who’ve taken it upon themselves to share sales information with the intention of helping authors make informed decisions where publishing opportunities are involved. Authors like HM Ward and Hugh Howey have been as transparent as they can be about their own sales and publishing opportunities in order to present a clearer picture of what publishing looks like in 2014.

Now, AuthorEarnings.com has released its report on Barnes and Noble activity where Nook Press sales are concerned. The data, which can be found HERE, highlights the percentages of bestselling titles that were published via both traditional and self-publishing routes, as well as small press and indie press houses. This report indicates that, of the top 5,000 ebooks in the Nook store, self-published bestselling titles made up more than half of the bestsellers.

The report goes on to breakdown the data for both authors and consumers, with the ultimate goal remaining affording people in the industry to make the informed decisions. Working solely on presumptions and unfounded theories about how self-published titles fare–both for better or for worse–doesn’t help anyone.

The industry as whole and in all its manifestations needs to adopt an air of openness and transparency that other industries have already made standard. Unfortunately, data like these reports, while vital to informed business practices for both authors and publishers, may eventually result in greater access to accurate sales data, but for now are only drawing ire from the industry’s critics.